Kainos Group's shares slip after FY profit dips

Shares in information technology solutions company Kainos Group were down almost 5% after it produced a 7% fall in its full-year statutory pre-tax profit to £13.3m, from £14.1m.

On an adjusted basis, pre-tax profit was up 1% to £14.3m, from £14.1m. It raised its proposed dividend by 5% to 6.3p a share, from 6p. Revenue was up 9% to £83.5m, from £76.6m.

"For the sixth consecutive year we are reporting strong growth in Digital Services, driven by demand from existing customers, new customer acquisition and geographic expansion," said chief executive Brendan Mooney.

"We continue to deliver major transformation programmes across UK government and we have also experienced very strong growth within the Commercial Sector, which is now the fastest growing segment within the division," said Mooney.

Client demand across Europe had resulted in the opening of our Frankfurt office, alongside the established offices in Amsterdam and Gdansk.

The company's Digital Platforms division continued to make progress, despite the funding challenge in the NHS.

"The addition of 37 new customers for Smart, our market-leading Software as a Service (SaaS) platform for automated testing of the Workday suite is particularly exciting as it brings the total number of global customers on the platform to 92."

Mooney continued that Evolve Integrated Care had signed a significant contract with a UK-based NHS Clinical Commissioning Group and post-period end, with live operation having started across 38 US hospitals.

"The Group's pipeline of prospects continues to strengthen across all divisions and the Board believes that the Group is well-positioned for growth in the coming years."

At 13:40 BST, shares in Kainos were down 4.58% to 229p each.